It is well known that it is difficult to teach both children and adults the subjects of geography and biology. It is thus of interest to provide devices for teaching geographic and biological concepts with tangible examples of some of the concepts sought to be conveyed to the student.
It is of interest to provide a device for teaching geography and biology (including ecology) in which plant growth is used to reinforce the educational concept sought to be conveyed. The growth of the plants may serve to reinforce the educational concept sought to be conveyed by providing a visual, olefactory and tactile association between living things, i.e. plants, and the educational concept of interest. Of particular interest are devices that may be able to provide for the representation of a .wide variety of educational concepts and for the use of a wide variety of plants.
Ornamental devices, commercially known as Chia animals, consist of clay figurines portraying animals or humans in which seeds of small plants are embedded in the clay so as to provide for the "humorous" illusion of small green plants growing where hair, fur, or wool would be found on the creature represented by the figurine. Such figurines are highly limited with respect to portraying items of geographical interest and the plants that may be used in conjunction with the figurine.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.